The Most Toys (episode)
A trader fakes Data's death to add him to his collection of rare and unique objects. Summary Lt. Commander Data has been sent to a trader's ship to obtain a quantity of hytritium, a rare, volatile element needed to treat a poisoned water supply on Beta Agni II. His shuttle explodes while returning to the ''Enterprise'', and the crew assumes that he was destroyed in the explosion. The accident was staged by the trader, Kivas Fajo, who wants to add Data to his collection of rare and valuable antiquities. Data tours Fajo's gallery; among the works on display is the "Mona Lisa." Data attempts to imitate her smile. Fajo soon shows his true colors as a vicious, cruel and immoral creature. At one point, when Data refuses to sit in the chair Fajo intends to display him in, Fajo threatens to mutilate his own life mate Varria with a Varon-T disruptor. Geordi La Forge reviews the audio logs from the shuttle flight and discovers that Data failed to transmit a status message, several seconds before the explosion. Although trivial, it was a procedural error that Data never would have committed, and Geordi suspects that he was somehow unable to complete the task. As the crew of the Enterprise delivers the hytritium to the water table on Beta Agni II, the substance responds much more quickly than expected, and Riker, Worf and Dr. Crusher beam down to investigate. Worf's tricorder readings reveal that the poisoning was artificial, but Crusher finds this difficult to believe-the poison used to contaminate the water table is very unstable and difficult to transport. However, the poison is also difficult to counteract, as hytritium(which is very rare) is the only antidote. In a briefing, Riker points out that Fajo was in the right place in the right time to provide them with the hytritium they so desperately needed. It is speculated that Fajo poisoned the water to then sell the Enterprise crew the hytritium to make a profit, but Crusher points out that the venture would not be profitable. Picard requests a bio on Fajo, and the computer includes a list of the collected art treasures in his collection, which include Van Gogh's "The Starry Night." They determine that Data's kidnapper went so far as to replace him with a package containing the same materials used in his construction, so that the Enterprise crew, on analyzing the debris, would be convinced that Data had been destroyed. Varria assists Data in escaping, but Fajo 'disrupts' her with the Varon-T. Her death is excruciating and painful to witness as she is destroyed from the inside out. With a forcefulness that could be mistaken for rage, Data takes the weapon and fires on Fajo, but is beamed back to the Enterprise just as he pulls the trigger. The weapon is disabled in transport. Data tells Riker to arrest Fajo for murder, kidnapping and theft. Data visits Fajo in the brig and informs him that all the items he stole from others are being returned. Fajo asks Data if it satisfies him to know that Fajo's life is ruined. Data replies that as an android, he has no feelings. Background Information *The title of this episode comes from a phrase occasionally used to justify greed of varying levels: "He who dies with the most toys, wins." *It is odd that Fajo would call Data "one of a kind", considering the existence of Lore. It is assumed he had no knowledge of Lore, seeing how at this point in time, even the Enterprise crew considered Lore to be "terminated". *Among the artifacts in Fajos's collection is the communication device used by Sarjenka in "Pen Pals" and a small vase that would be seen in the crew quarters of Data, Worf, Miles O'Brien and many others in later episodes. *The 1962 Roger Maris baseball card used was the first in the Topps series of 598 cards that year on account of Maris having bested Babe Ruth's single season home run record by one the previous year with 61 homers. The cards are currently (2006) not all that rare - one in decent shape can be had for about $100. *Actor Saul Rubinek was cast as Kivas Fajo with very short notice. British actor David Rappaport was first cast in the role, but committed suicide during initial filming. All scenes featuring Rappaport were re-shot with Rubinek. *Data would later die similarly as is depicted in this episode 13 years later in Star Trek Nemesis. *This episode features a shuttle pod Pike named after Christopher Pike second captain of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). Links and References Guest Stars *Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien *Nehemiah Persoff as Palor Toff *Jane Daly as Varria *Saul Rubinek as Kivas Fajo Co-Starring *Guy Vardaman as Darien Wallace (uncredited) References 1962; 2352; Andorians; basotile; class-2 probe; Dali, Salvador; denkir; escape pod; Ferengi; finoplak; Giles Belt; ''Grissom'', USS; hytritium; lapling; Lawmim Galactopedia; Lya IV; Moliam Andi tapestries; Mona Lisa; Off-Zel vase; Off-Zel, Mark; ''Pike''; Rejac crystal; Sector 30; Sigma Erandi system; Sirrie IV; Stacius Trade Guild; Starry Night; Tellurian spices; The Persistence of Memory; tricyanate; Van Gogh, Vincent; Varon-T disruptor; Veltan sex idol; Zibalia; Zibalians |next= }} Most Toys, The de:Der Sammler es:The Most Toys nl:The Most Toys